Robert Holder:Officials seemingly fouling out this season

Fans piled out of Hardin Valley Tuesday night with disgust. I was among them. Not because of bad play or the Hawks losing to the Wildcats. The offciating was the thing that got me.

Robert Holder

Fans piled out of Hardin Valley Tuesday night with disgust. I was among them. Not because of bad play or the Hawks losing to the Wildcats. The offciating was the thing that got me.

Whistle blows.

“I have a foul on the sports editor.”

What? I already have a foul four sentences in? Hear me out.

Officials in 3-AAA have been notoriusly good in the past. The last decade I have seen more than a handful call games in sub-state, state and state title games. They are among the tops in the profession in the state.

But this season has been anything but. Instead of being seen but not heard, whistles have been going off at an alarming rate.

Whistle blows.

“Foul right here.”

See what I mean?

Tuesday night 96 fouls were called in the combined boys and girls games between Oak Ridge and Hardin Valley. The HVA boys had 30 alone.

In the Oak Ridge-Clinton boys game on Nov. 30, the two teams combined for 60 fouls and 85 free throws.

It isn’t just the amount of fouls, either. It’s when they are called and how they are called. The Lady Wildcats had nine fouls in the first quarter against the Lady Hawks. In the second half, HVA had six in the first 8 minutes of play compared to Oak Ridge’s one.

In the Nov. 22 game at Central, Oak Ridge senior guard Rian Hall was called for a foul when he wasn’t in the play and was nearly called for another when he wasn’t on the court. The Wildcats also drew five fouls against the Bobcats in the first four possessions of the third quarter during that game — three of which were shooting fouls.

Whistle blows.

“Foul.”

Yeah, I know the routine.

The evening-out of fouls is a nice concept and there will be games where high school athletes lose their heads and 40 or so fouls will be justified.

I get that. But if officials will call the game close early and set a tone, the players can adjust. Failing to be consistent with calls leads to bad, drawn out games like the one Tuesday.

No one wants to see that.

With things being so tight right now in the 3-AAA race with just three or four games remaining before the tournament at Campbell County, teams shouldn’t be worrying about which officials they are getting that night and what is or isn’t a foul.

Whistle blows.

“Technical foul.”

What?!?

I guess I’m on the bench for the fourth.

The job is not easy. You can usually only make half the people in the room happy on any given night. The only professionals that have worse odds when it comes to making people happy are politicians and IRS agents.

Officials are immediately a target.

I applaud each and everyone for being able to do the job. The good and the bad, the old and the young, by and by, do a pretty good job.

Hopefully their calls won’t influence who is crowned the winner and who is going home in the district tournament.

There, made it to the end of the column.

Whistle blows.

Whoops, spoke too soon.

Robert Holder fouled out with two points, no rebounds and six turnovers. He can be contacted at (865) 220-5508.

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